UNC CHARLOTTE PERSONNEL INFORMATION MEMORANDUM

PIM 16

WORK SCHEDULE - Normal and Variable Schedules for Classified (SPA) Staff Employees Subject to the Wage and Hour Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

DATED:  August 18, 2008

Category: Employment and Staffing
Contact: Director of Employment and Staffing – ext.7-4272

1.   References

a.  Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1937
b.  NORTH CAROLINA STATE PERSONNEL MANUAL, SECTION 4, FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT
c.  PIM 58: Teleworking Program Guidelines

2.   Standard Workweek

a.  The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the State Personnel Manual require the establishment of a regularly recurring workweek of 168 consecutive hours for employees who are subject to the wage and hour provisions of the FLSA, e.g. employees submitting weekly time records to Financial Services (Payroll Office).

     b.  Work in excess of 40 hours during the 168 consecutive hour period that constitutes the workweek is compensable as overtime.

c.  The 168 consecutive hours from 12:01 a.m. Sunday through Midnight Saturday constitute the University's standard workweek.

d.  Department and Office Heads desiring changes to the standard workweek are to have such changes reviewed for FLSA compliance by the Director of Employment prior to implementation.

3.   Standard Work Schedule

The standard work schedule for employees of the University in FLSA-subject staff positions is based on forty hours of work per week. The normal daily work schedule adopted by the University is eight hours plus a lunch period of one hour covering the hours of 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

4.   Variable Work Schedules

     a.  Because of the nature of many of the University's support activities, some positions require workweek schedules other than forty hours distributed over five days or other than the normal daily work schedules. A required continuing variation of workweek or daily work schedule is considered part of the duties and responsibilities of the position and is to be documented in the position description or added as an addendum to the position description.

     b.  Employees on the normal daily work schedule (8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) may work a schedule more compatible with their personal needs provided the appropriate supervisor agrees and the needs of the University and the public it serves can accommodate the varied work schedule.

c.  Requests for change of scheduled daily "start time," "lunch break," and "quit time" may be approved by department and office heads. (EXAMPLE: An employee desires to begin work at 7:30 a.m., take a 30 minute lunch period, and depart at 4:00 p.m.) If the supervisor determines the needs of the work unit can accommodate the change, he or she may approve the request. Documentation of such decisions will be maintained in department records and be available for review if requested by senior management, Human resources, Internal Audit, etc.

d.  Requests for change of weekly work schedule may also be approved by Department and Office Heads unless approval authority is specifically withheld by the Vice Chancellor concerned. (Example: An employee desires to schedule the forty hour workweek over four days or four and one-half days).  If the department or office head determines the needs of the work unit/University can accommodate the change, he or she may approve the request, subject to the same documentation requirements as outlined under 4c.; or, if approval authority for such requests is retained by the Vice Chancellor concerned, the Department or Office Head should forward a written request to the Vice Chancellor for approval. Upon approval, the Vice Chancellor will retain documentation of such decisions.

e.  The total number of hours a day a University Office is normally open to serve the public may not be reduced to accommodate variable work schedules for employees.

     f.   Supervisors of employees working other than normal work schedules are responsible for ensuring any unsupervised time before or after the normal daily schedule (8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) is used productively.

     g.  Please see Flex Schedule (Guidelines and Examples).

     h.  For holidays observed by the University:

       (1)   Employees scheduled to work on that day are credited with eight hours of pay regardless of any varied work schedule approved for the employee. In such cases employees will be obliged to make suitable adjustments, e.g. use vacation leave or work additional hours to make-up the difference between the eight hours of pay authorized for the holiday and the varied work schedule.

       (2)   If the holiday occurs on a day when the employee is not scheduled to work, then the employee and the supervisor must identify a regularly scheduled work day, preferably in the same workweek, to designate as the holiday for which the employee will have eight hours off with pay.

       (3)   Supervisors are responsible for ensuring employees who work a varied work schedule are aware of the policies regarding pay for holidays.

          (4)   EXAMPLE: If an employee is working a varied work schedule of four ten hour days, Tuesday – Friday and a holiday occurs on a Monday, the employee will receive 8 hours of pay on Monday for the holiday.  In this case, the supervisor may allow the employee to take off on Tuesday, work their normal schedule on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and use two hours of vacation leave bringing the total hours paid to 40 (8 hours Holiday Pay, 30 hours worked, and 2 hours vacation leave).  In no case will holiday pay exceed 8 hours per day for full time employees or the appropriate pro-rated amount for part-time employees.

5.   Teleworking

In some situations, telecommuting may be an effective alternative working arrangement, either on a temporary, intermittent, or permanent basis. Telecommuting is not an employee right, is not grievable, and is subject to the approval of the employee’s respective vice chancellor. Each situation must be carefully considered and arranged. Please refer to PIM 58 (Teleworking Program Guidance) for teleworking agreement template and other details on considering such requests.

6.   Lunch/Dinner Meal Periods

Unless otherwise approved by the appropriate Department or Office Head, schedules for classified (SPA) employees subject to the FLSA are to include a meal period of at least 30 uninterrupted minutes. Department and Office Heads are requested to discuss any proposed elimination of the meal period with the Director of Employee Relations, Compliance and Training (ext 7-2804) before implementation. (NOTE: If an employee's lunch period is interrupted by a request to return to work to the extent that less than 30 uninterrupted minutes are provided, the entire period is compensable as work time.)